Coffee Shop Exposition
by MarcusLaurence
Summary: There's nothing worse than lengthy exposition scenes that take place in coffee shops. They're everywhere: anime, tv, movies, you name it. Often considered lazy, overdone, and an obnoxious way to info-dump, it takes real skill to make a coffee shop exposition scene work. So why not give it a try? No prior explanations, less than 1,500 words each. Let's do this!


Ruby pushed open the door to the cafe, closing it quietly behind her. With the sun still an hour from rising above the horizon, a quiet morning hush was the atmosphere and silence the law of the land. She scanned the dimly lit room, eyes resting on a table that seated three women. An empty seat faced the window, pulled out at an angle.

"Glad to see you finally made it," snapped the white-haired woman as Ruby took her seat. "You're three minutes late."

"Lay off, White," the black-haired woman chided, placing a hand on the White's shoulder. "Can't you see she's nervous enough as it is?"

White brushed the hand away, directing her ire to the blonde on Ruby's left. "When you said your sister was competent, I didn't expect you to bring a fourteen year old girl!" she hissed, enunciating every syllable with precision.

"She's fifteen!" the blonde snapped back. "And her age has nothing to do with her skill. Black here is a perfect example of that." Black merely shrugged noncommittally as she momentarily became the subject of attention. "I've never let you down," the blonde continued. "If I say my sis can do it, she can do it."

"Can you?" Black asked, directly addressing Ruby for the first time.

Ruby blanched under her gaze, at least White had exhibited anger. Uncomfortable yes, but easy to read all the same. Black's eyes appraised her as if she were a gem, deciding if she was worth the light of day.

"I-" she gulped, "I don't know how much Yan- _Yellow_ told you guys, but I'm fast."

"How fast?" Black pressed, leaning forward.

"The fastest," Yellow interjected. "And you see her cape?" She held up the material, rubbing it between her fingers. "Infrared nano mirrors, or something. They mess with even the best video cameras. The only thing they'll be able to see is a crimson blur."

Black leaned back in her seat, clicking her tongue in warning. Footsteps approached a moment later, heralding a waiter.

"Coffee, black," White ordered, preemptively interrupting the waiter's greeting. "And Earl Grey for her," she added, jabbing her thumb at Black. Black nodded when the waiter looked to her for approval.

"Coke for me, and an Americano for Little Red here," Yellow ordered.

"With room for cream!" Ruby called as the waiter began walking away. "I hope he heard that." White huffed in displeasure.

"So," Yellow addressed White after giving everyone a few moments to enjoy the first sips of their respective drinks, "now that we're all here, can we finally start talking about taking down your father's company?"

Everyone at the table froze, Yellow covering her mouth with horror while White glared daggers at her. Black's teacup was slowly lowered in surprise until it rattled the saucer, shattering the silence.

"Wait, White's a _Schnee_?" Ruby gasped. "Like, a family member of the Schnee Mining Company?"

"Keep your voice down, dolt!" White hissed back, slamming a palm onto the table and rattling the silverware. Black pulled her drink up from the surface just in time to keep it from spilling. "Yellow, what the _hell_ is wrong with you?"

"I'm sorry!" Yellow cried back, holding her hands together in penance. "It was an accident!"

"You're even worse that Little Red here!"

"But wait, why are you robbing your own family's company?" Ruby asked, ignoring the insult. "What gives?"

White sighed in defeat, pressing her fingertips to her temples as she muttered under her breath. "Guess _that_ secret's out. Might as well tell her." The table returned to silence once more when she sat up, still massaging her temples. "Look outside, Red, and tell me what you see."

Ruby did as she was told, sitting up in her chair to better see the view. Her voice was hesitant at first, but as she went on it gained in strength. "I see. . . Vale? I see the city skyline. Over to the left is the Vale Bank, and off in the distance I can barely see the wheat farms at the edge of the city. Over there is the- hey, am I doing this right?"

White nodded, her eyes still closed. "Keep going, you'll get there eventually." Black crossed her arms and smirked, doubtless knowing where this was going.

"Ooookay. To the right I can see the shipyard, although it's so far away that all the ships look like toys. And I guess there's the Schnee Spire."

"Aha," White held up a hand to silence her, opening her icy blue eyes. "Where, in relation to the rest of the city, is the Schnee Spire?"

"It's. . . in the middle?"

"Very good," she nodded curtly. "Can you describe it to me in relation to the rest of the city?"

"It's bigger than all the other buildings," Ruby began, unsure of what answers White was waiting to hear. "It's the tallest building in the city, and it's. . . cleaner I guess?"

"Go on."  
"It's a different material, almost all glass. And the top is reflecting the sun, making it shine."

"That's enough," White stopped her with a scowl. She washed the expression away with a large gulp of steaming coffee. "It's beautiful, decadent, awe-inspiring. Magnificent. I could go on, but that'd put a bad taste in my mouth. The point is, it's better than all the rest. 'Finest of them all,' as the saying goes. Tell me Red, what kind of man builds a tower like that?"

"A very rich one?" Ruby answered, although it was more of a question. White rolled her eyes.

"How boring. Anyone could see that. Try again."

Ruby hesitated, worried that she might insult her. "A man who is. . . insecure. Like, maybe he's scared he won't get recognized for his accomplishments, so he builds a tower to force people to look at it?"

White smiled for the first time. "You're smarter than I gave you credit for. Yes, you're spot-on. Where others see wonder and power, I see abuse. I see overzealousness, I see greed, pride, and vanity."

"Not to mention the phallic shape," Yellow snickered. Black nearly spat out her tea as she laughed.

"It's a monument to using the hardships of others as profit," White continued. "I dislike using the ends to justify my means, something my family is all too-well known for. To say the Schnee business practices are 'unsavory' would be leaving too much unsaid."

"No kidding," Black growled.

"So, that's why I need your help, Red," White finished, folding her fingers together diplomatically. "You're the last piece on the board. Our win condition. If I'm the King, then you're my Queen, the piece that holds the most mobility. Are you ready, Red? It's make or break."

Ruby nodded, hesitance gone. "Getting those documents out and into the open is the right thing to do. You can count on me. I may be young, but I can handle myself, just you wait!"

"I believe you," White smiled.

"We're taking down an empire _and_ the patriarchy! Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" Yellow clapped her hands together, rubbing them furiously. "Man, I'm fired up!"

"Get it out now, you'll need your cool later," Black advised, though she was smiling. "But I do like this whole 'two birds with one stone' thing."

"I'm nothing if not efficient," White proclaimed with a smirk. "Now, are we done here? I'd like to take my leave before the sun gets all the way up; driving is obnoxious enough without having to fight the solar system."

Ruby eyed White as they left their seats, her jaw dropping in surprise when the woman dropped a large bill on the table, easily enough to pay for five or six whole meals. Black draped her arm around White's shoulder as they walked out, whispering into her ear. White laughed a second later, pulling her down into a kiss. "You'll always be my real Queen."

"Well?" Yellow said, startling Ruby from her staring. "You ready to go?"

Ruby nodded with conviction. "I've always wanted to help people, but I never thought I'd be doing it this way!"

"It's a strange way for sure," Yellow agreed, walking out and into the sunrise. "But think about it, you're just like that one character in those fairy tales you like!"

"Yeah, I suppose so," Ruby said, greeting the shining sun with a smile. "I'm Little Red Robin Hood."

* * *

 **I'm actually really happy with how this turned out! On top of it being incredibly fun to write I think I managed to make a solid exposition scene. I was going for something Ocean's 11 style, or perhaps something akin to Reservoir Dogs. As far as character motivations Weiss's are obvious, Blake's are less so (but some motivations do peek through), while Ruby and Yang could have more. Maybe not perfect, but I'd say it went very well for a first try!**

 **So I'll see you all next time, and please do give me your thoughts!**


End file.
